1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pre-hung doors, and, in particular to a closure clip that will secure a pre-hung door in a closed and aligned position during shipping, delivery, and installation.
2. Description of Related Art
Prefabricated and pre-hung door and door frame units have become standard for most building construction situations. Such doors are generally preassembled and aligned or squared, i.e., pre-hung, within the frame, or jamb, at the manufacturing facility.
However, during transshipment and in installation pre-hung doors may become misaligned. In an assembled pre-hung door, the hinges generally secure the door to the hinge jamb and hold it in place, while the other jamb, or strike jamb, though attached to the head jamb, is not otherwise secured relative to the door. Thus, the strike jamb and the head jamb may move relative to the door and hinge jamb during transshipment or installation, thereby becoming misaligned.
For this reason various means have been devised for reversibly fixing doors in an aligned or pre-hung position. The simplest such means has been the use of one or two dual headed nails driven through the back of the strike jamb into the free edge of the door, thereby holding the door and the strike jamb in fixed relation.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,159,782, 5,722,203, 5,787,639, and 6,170,198, various aids have been provided for fastening a pre-hung door assembly and maintaining its alignment during transshipment and installation. These disclosed aids are similar in that they comprise at least a first piece received in the back of the strike jamb and a second piece received in the door knob bore with a post extending through the lockset bore of the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,315, discloses a two-piece device for securing and retaining a pre-hung door that comprises a shaped cylindrical plug configured to fit closely in the lockset bore of a door. The plug can be moved within the bore so that a configured end engages a bore of the strike jamb, thus securing the door in a closed position. Slots provided in the configured end of the plug receive a retention tab that is inserted through the door reveal, securing the plug in position.
In using such multiple piece devices multiple steps are required to align the door components and utilize the interacting parts to fasten the assembly together. The pre-hung door assembly is therefore complicated by the requirement of attaching the multiple pieces to each other, and further, at the time of installation of the pre-hung door assembly the pieces must be separated prior to installing the pre-hung door assembly. Once they have been separated the door may becoming misaligned by handling during the installation stage.
One-piece closures have also been proposed for use in assembling pre-hung doors. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,483,101, and 6,357,181, similar one-piece fastening devices are disclosed comprising an elongated strap formed of a flexible material. A cylindrical member projecting from one end of the straps is adaptable for seating in the lockset bore. In both devices the flexible strap is extended from door knob bore across the face of the door and the marginal edge of the jamb. A terminal region of the strap is pulled over a portion of the jamb face for stapling to the strike jamb. U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,017, discloses a rigid polymeric one-piece retaining device for attachment to a pre-hung door assembly. The device includes a planar surface for placement against the door face and includes a cylindrical insert for placement within the door knob bore or opening in the door face. A stabilizer is attached perpendicularly to the device for location in the door reveal to assist in spacing and holding the door in a fixed position relative to the frame. The planar surface is stapled to the strike jamb by the installer.
One-piece retaining devices of the prior art have no mechanism for precisely and simultaneously aligning the door and strike jamb, thus demanding care and precision from the installer during assembly to be certain that the door and strike jamb are properly aligned and spaced before stapling. Additionally, in the flexible one-piece devices, stretching and flexing of the material during transshipment and installation can allow the door and jambs to move relative to each another, causing the door to come out of proper alignment.
Thus, there remains a need for a door fastening and closure device that reliably, easily and reversibly maintains a pre-hung door in proper alignment through shipment and installation.